It is well known to use template documents, or forms, to record information provided during interviews.
For example, a user may conduct an interview for marketing purposes. During the interview, the user asks the interviewee a number of verbal questions and the interviewee provides verbal answers in response to the questions. The template document is used by the user to record the interviewee's answers in handwritten form, and contains a number of separate portions in which different answers can be recorded.
The template document is usually provided on a physical substrate, such as a piece of paper. Where a paper substrate is used, the information recorded in the template document frequently has to be transferred into an electronic version of the template document, so that the information may be conveniently stored and manipulated. The process of transferring the handwritten information into an electronic version of the template document is a process known as data entry.
The data entry process may involve a human operator reading the information recorded on the paper substrate and manually entering it into a computer system. Alternatively, the data entry process may involve computer based handwriting recognition techniques for recognising the information recorded on the paper substrate.
There are a number of potential issues associated with the use of template documents provided on paper substrates, as described above. Firstly, a user sometimes interprets the verbal answers provided by the interviewee incorrectly. This can result in the handwritten answers recorded in the template document being incorrect.
Secondly, depending on the speed and length of an interviewee's answers, the user may find it difficult to record all of the necessary information in legible handwritten form.
A further issue relates to the data entry process. The handwritten information recorded on the substrate is often difficult to read, either by a human operator or by handwriting recognition algorithms. Accordingly, the data that is entered into the electronic version of the template document often contains errors and/or omissions.